Grapefruit Is The Punchy Ingredient That Takes Classic Ceviche To A New Level
Ceviche might be the only common dish in the world that you can say is "cooked," but also not really. A combination of fresh seafood and vegetables, ceviche is made in citrus juice, attaining a cooked-like consistency without any heat involved. Typically, this juice is either lemon or lime juice, which not only has its signature textural effect on the fish in question but also imbues them with the fruit's natural flavors.
But what if you could use a different citrus fruit in ceviche entirely to achieve the same general goal but with a totally unique flavor profile? What if you used — dare we even speak it — grapefruit? It's not nearly as unbelievable as it might sound because how we often perceive grapefruit is wrong. It doesn't have to have the overpowering, mouth-puckering sourness of white grapefruit; you can use the much sweeter taste of red grapefruit and achieve a really interesting ceviche result.
Red grapefruit works wonderfully in ceviche
Grapefruit may be the most misunderstood fruit in American society (at least, apart from something like the avocado, which we often incorrectly regard as a vegetable). When most people think of grapefruits, they think of the overpoweringly sour flavor of white grapefruit juice. While you could theoretically use that in ceviche, you'll have much better luck with a red grapefruit, which combines grapefruit's flavor with some wonderful sweetness and heavily muted tartness compared to that of a white grapefruit. At the same time, the sweetness is present yet not overpowering, so don't worry about it turning into a fish dessert.
The only problem to overcome here is that due to that lower sourness, red grapefruits have a much lower acid content than white ones. As a result, you will be better off combining their juice with a lime to get the seafood to "cook" properly. Fortunately, the two flavors blend very well, so don't worry about one overpowering the other.
There are a lot of citrus fruits that could work here
Grapefruit isn't the only citrus you could use in ceviche, either. Mandarin oranges or blood oranges are too sweet to work independently, but much like grapefruit, you can combine them with lemon or lime and get a great flavor. In addition, there are far more citrus fruits out there than many people realize. Pomelos are the predecessor to the grapefruit and have many of the same qualities, so combining them with a higher-acid citrus is a good idea. Sour oranges like Seville oranges work great if you're a fan of orange flavors and are acidic enough to stand on their own. On the other hand, citrons (the predecessor to most citrus, along with pomelos) are probably too sour on their own, so combine them with something sweeter.
Pay special attention here to the yuzu, a Japanese citrus fruit that's something like a cross between a lemon and a grapefruit. Yuzu has enough acidity to stand on its own with ceviche but enough sweetness and unique flavor to really bring a different taste to the dish. But whatever you pick, just be sure to balance your flavors, and you'll produce exciting and delicious ceviche in no time.